Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov: We Will Not At This Time Be Returning To Nuclear Arms Reduction Talks With U.S. Under 'New START' Treaty

To mark the fifth anniversary of the New START
(Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), which was signed in April 2010 and came into
force on February 5, 2011, U.S. National Security Advisor Susan Rice stated:
"We look forward to full implementation of the Treaty and continue to call
on Russia to answer the President's invitation five years ago to begin talks on
further reductions to our nuclear arsenals."[1]

Presidents Obama and Medvedev after signing of
New START in Prague, April 2010

Several
Russian media outlets reported on statements by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister
Sergey Ryabkov to the effect that Russia will not at this time be
returning to nuclear arms reduction talks with the U.S.

In an
interview, Ryabkov explained Russia's rejection of Security Advisor Rice's call,
outlining two reasons: First, the U.S. is stepping up its military capability
by developing its anti-missile defense system and its Prompt Global Strike
(PGS) precision conventional weapons program, and second, the U.S. is currently
undermining the Russian defense industry through its sanctions against
Russia.

Following
are excerpts from statements by Ryabkov, from interviews with the TASS[2]
and Russia Today[3] news
agencies and from reports in the Russian daily Kommersant[4]
on this issue.

In a February 6, 2016 interview, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov told
Russia Today: "The Russian side's position regarding the possibility of
further negotiations on the [New] START, and regarding nuclear arms reduction in
general, hasn't changed. We have reached the point where further bilateral
Russian-American negotiations in this field are not possible."

He added that Russia would only consider resuming negotiations
if the abovementioned circumstances changed, and if the parties to the talks
come to the dialogue as "equal sovereign states."

The same day, commentator Michael Belyaev wrote in Kommersant
that the main reason for this Russian position is that "in light of the current
U.S. policy towards Russia, the U.S. proposals are [an attempt] to impose a
game by 'American rules' - There is no way that such a proposal can be
seriously considered."

In a February 8, 2016 interview with TASS, Ryabkov
clarified other defense-related issues that he said needbe considered before
the nuclear dialogue can resume: "We've reduced our nuclear potential to
the level of the 1950s and 60s... so we cannot further reduce nuclear arms while
the nuclear potential of other countries is not part of [the process] of
nuclear arms reduction. On the other hand, we are very concerned about
developments in areas that impact the strategic balance... The American
initiative of developing its global anti-missile defense system is being implemented
really quickly in many regions, including Europe and Asia." This, he
added, "is closely related to Russia's nuclear deterrent potential."

Ryabkov continued: "Another significant [Russian] concern
is related to the possibility of [the future] appearance of attack weapons from
and in space... Many countries use space
for communications, intelligence, and tracking of specific regions... What we are
saying is that it is unacceptable to use space for attack weapons, which could
be used against other countries' space objects, or for airstrikes against targets
on Earth. Technologies are developing, and such a possibility is becoming much
more realistic. While no restrictions in this area exist, it is really difficult
to discuss further reduction of nuclear arms, [since] they still play a key
role for strategic deterrence."

The February 6 Kommersant report also quoted
Ryabkov as noting that there is a further substantial obstacle to the nuclear
disarmament process: "The U.S. is continuing... development of its
strategic weapons [i.e. PGS]... Besides, in parallel with the proposal [to
resume] negotiating... the U.S. administration is taking actions directed at
undermining Russian defense and defense-industrial potential, through its
sanction policies."